Sun Devils Cross State Lines To Take on New Mexico on the Road
TEMPE -- The Arizona State University Sun Devil football program heads on the road for the first time this season on Saturday, taking on the New Mexico Lobos at University Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M., at 4 p.m. AZT/5 p.m. Local on the CBS Sports Network.
The Sun Devils opened the season with an efficient and thorough 45-15 victory over Weber State in Tempe on opening weekend, increasing their season-opening win streak to 12 straight games.
Arizona State is now in its 102nd season of competition in 2014. The Sun Devils are 574-370-24 (.605) all-time and have appeared in 27 bowl games, compiling a 13-13-1 record in such contests. The Sun Devils are coming off an impressive 10-4 campaign in 2013 that saw ASU finish as the Pac-12 South Champions and advance to the National University Holiday Bowl as head coach Todd Graham earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year accolades.
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. This week’s game is first of three road games in ASU’s first five games, first time that has happened since the 1997 campaign.
2. @FootballASU had nine players earn their first collegiate start in the opener. Six of those came on defense with three appearing on offense.
3. DJ Calhoun and Tashon Smallwood became just the seventh and eighth ASU true freshmen to start in a season opener in program history.
4. @FootballASU had streak of 29 straight games forcing a turnover (the second-longest streak in nation) ended against Weber State.
5. @FootballASU has now won 12 straight season openers, tied for second-longest active streak in the nation. Has won 16 straight home openers.
6. @JaelenStrong now has eight career 100+ yard receiving games, third most for any ASU WR behind Hagan (18) and McDonald (12).
7. D.J. Foster with three 100+ yard rushing games in last four games. 7 rushing TDs in span. 0 100+ games and 4 rush TDs in 24 games previous.
8. @FootballASU 1 of 3 teams in nation to return 3,000+ yard passer, 1,000+ receiver and 2 500+ yard rushers this yr. Houston/Marshall others
9. @FootballASU’s 26 frosh/soph on intitial two-deep is the 12t-highest total in D-1. 8 seniors on two-deep is third-lowest.
10. Under @CoachGrahamASU, ASU has used 38 timeouts on D on 3rd down, forcing 4th down/TO on ensuing play on 27 of those calls (71 percent).
ON THE AIR Hear the hometown with broadcaster Tim Healey and color analyst Jeff Van Raaphorst as well as sideline reporter Doug Franz call all the action for Sun Devil Football this season. The MidFirst Bank Sun Devil IMG Sports Network airs statewide and is buoyed by Booneville’s powerful sports/talk lineup of 620 AM KTAR, 98.7 KMVP and 92.3 KTAR News FM. Don’t miss a play this upcoming season with the additional worldwide coverage brought to you by the TuneIn App which can be downloaded to your smartphone, tablet or laptop. This week’s game will broadcast on 92.3 KTAR News FM. The game will also be broadcast on Sirius Channel 139/XM Channel 197.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION Saturday’s contest will mark the first game for the Sun Devils this season that will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network. Carter Blackburn will be on the call alongside analyst Aaron while Jamie Erthal will roam the sidelines. Fans are encouraged to check their local listings for the CBS Sports Network in their area. The Pac-12 will again provide access to Armed Forces Network for carriage of Pac-12 football games in 2014s for the benefit of the men and women in the military.
ON THE LOBOS AND THE MOUNTAIN WEST The Sun Devils are 22-5-1 all-time against the Lobos, though the two teams haven’t squared off since the 1977 campaign. This weekend’s contest is the first of a home-and-home series between the two squads, who will face each other for the first time in over three decades. The teams played in 13 straight seasons from 1965-1977 with ASU winning each of those contests. The Sun Devils haven’t dropped a matchup against New Mexico since a 35-7 defeat in 1942. The Lobos are coming off a tough 31-24 defeat to UTEP in Albuquerque last weekend in a game where UNM put up a whopping 410 yards of offense on the ground.
New Mexico relies on a a triple-option pistol-style offense, so Arizona State likely won’t see much of an air raid this weekend if UNM’s 67 total passing yards against UTEP are any indication. UNM’s defense gave up 42.8 points per game last season and gave up 250 yards per game on the ground and gave up 330 to the Miners this past weekend. The Lobos are led by head coach Bob Davie, who is 8-19 in his third season at the helm of the program.
Outside the Pac-12, the Sun Devils have taken on more teams currently in the Mountain West Conference than they have any other conference. ASU holds a 103-34-2 record all-time against schools currently in the Mountain West, which is comprised heavily in teams that were formerly members of the Western Athletic Conference, in which ASU competed from 1962-77. ASU’s last loss to a current Mountain West team came in 2011 when the Sun Devils fell to Boise State in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas.
LAST TIME OUT - WEBER STATE
--With the victory over Weber State, Arizona State improves to 74-26-2 all-time in season openers, including victories in 12 straight, all coming at home. ASU holds an all-time mark of 56-15-1 when opening the season at home and hasn’t lost a home opener since 1998 to Washington—a streak of 16 victories. That total is currently the longest active streak among all Pac-12 programs.
--This game marked the first meeting between ASU and Weber State, meaning ASU now holds a 1-0 series lead over its Big Sky opponent. The Sun Devils have handled the Big Sky for quite some time now, extending their streak to 28 straight wins over Big Sky opponents dating back to 1939.
--Arizona State had forced an opponent turnover in 29 consecutive games, including all 27 under head coach Todd Graham, until it was unable to force a turnover against Weber State. The streak dated back over two years to Nov. 25, 2011, when it faced Cal at home on Senior Night. The mark stood as the second-longest turnover streak in the country, trailing only Missouri (44 games).
--Taylor Kelly began the game sixth in all-time passing yards in Sun Devil history and exited the game fourth after playing just the first half. Kelly began the game with 6,705 career passing yards, and thanks to his 238-yard performance, leaped both Danny White (6,717) and Ryan Kealy (6,912). Kelly currently has 6,934 career passing yards, 1,893 behind Jake Plummer for third place and 3,683 yards behind Andrew Walter for first place.
--The Sun Devils had a hefty number of true freshman see game action in their opener with seven players being thrown right into the fire. Tashon Smallwood and DJ Calhoun also became the seventh and eighth Sun Devils in program history to start their first game in a season opener joining John Jefferson, Terrell Suggs, Zach Miller, Will Sutton, D.J. Foster and Jaxon Hood on the exclusive list.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
--Taylor Kelly passed for one touchdown against Weber State, upping his career total to 58. That total currently ranks fifth in ASU school history, just six behind Danny White for fourth.
----Kelly began the opener with 6,705 career passing yards, and thanks to his 238-yard performance, leaped both Danny White (6,717) and Ryan Kealy (6,912). Kelly currently has 6,934 career passing yards, 1,893 behind Jake Plummer for third place and 3,683 yards behind Andrew Walter for first place.
--With 147 rushing yards (a new career high) in the opener, D.J. Foster eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in his career. Foster has racked up three 100+ yard rushing games in his last four games and has seven rushing touchdowns in that span. He had zero 100+ yard rushing games in his prior 24 games and four rushing touchdowns.
--ASU has scored first in 22 of 28 games with Todd Graham at the helm, and possess a 17-5 record (9-1 in 2013) in such contests.
-ASU put together a 9 play, 99-yard scoring drive in 2:18 that resulted in a 3-yard D.J. Foster rushing touchdown. The Devils’ longest drive last year covered 94 yards over 13 plays. It was ASU’s longest drive since also having a 99-yard drive against Northern Arizona back in 2008.
-Below is a list of ASU’s current pertinent individual and team rankings nationally:
Total offense — 17th, 570
Rushing offense — 29th, 267
Passing offense — T-29th, 303
Scoring offense — T-26th, 45
Passing yards allowed — 34th, 156
Scoring defense — T-34th, 14.0
3rd-down conversion pct — 30th, 0.529
4th-down conversion pct. — T-1st, 1.000
4th-down conversion pct. Defense — T-1st, 0.000
Red zone offense — T-1st, 1.000
Red zone defense — 16th, .500
First downs offense — 11th, 32
First downs defense — T-21st, 14
Fewest penalties per game — 22nd, 4.0
Fewest penalty yards per game — 22nd, 30
D.J. Foster, all-purpose yards, 28th, 173.00
James Johnson, passes defended, 17th, 2
Jaelen Strong, receiving yards, 13th, 146
Jaelen Strong, receiving yards per game, 13th, 146
Jaelen Strong, receptions per game, 14th, 10
D.J. Foster, rushing TDs, 4th, 3
D.J. Foster, rushing yards, 18th, 147
D.J. Foster, rushing yards per game, 18th, 147
D.J. Foster, scoring, 5th, 18
WE ARE THE YOUTH GONE WILD In a complete 180 from the strong veteran presence on the 2013 Sun Devil roster, the 2014 ASU squad will rely heavily on the youngsters to help lead the way as the season progresses. Entering the weekend, the Sun Devil two-deep depth chart features 26 freshmen and sophomores who could see playing time this season. That total ranks tied for 12th in the nation among Division I programs (Oklahoma State and Tulane lead with 32 underclassmen on the two-deep). In the opener, true freshmen DJ Calhoun and Tashon Smallwood each got the nod as starters, becoming just the seventh and eighth Sun Devils in program history to start in the season opener as true frosh, joining John Jefferson, Terrell Suggs, Zach Miler, Will Sutton, D.J. Foster and Jaxon Hood on the exclusive list.
SENIOR DISCOUNT With such an abundance of underclassmen set to make their presence felt this season, it should come as no surprise that there is a bit of a shortage on seniors. In fact, ASU’s senior class this season sits at 11 members - a tally that ranks tied for the second fewest total among all Division I institutions behind only Temple’s eight total seniors. The quality of those seniors is impressive however with eight of them appearing on the opening weekend two-deep depth chart and another set to participate on special teams. Even with the high percentage of total seniors playing on the two-deep, ASU’s eight seniors on the two-deep is tied for the fourth-lowest total in the nation behind only Temple and Tennessee (6) and Baylor (7). The total is the fewest amount of seniors on the two-deep of all Pac-12 programs. ASU had nine first-time starters in the opener (six on defense, three on offense).
STRIKE FIRST Arizona State has scored first in 22 of the 28 games with Todd Graham at the helm and is now 17-5 in the Todd Graham era when getting on the scoreboard first and 1-0 this season following the opener against Weber State.
STRIKE FAST The quick-hitting offense has become a staple of the Todd Graham-coached Sun Devils, with 119 of ASU’s 162 offensive scoring drives under offensive coordinator Mike Norvell coming in three minutes or less (73.5 percent). All seven of ASU’s scoring drives in the opener against Weber State came in under three minutes. ASU’s high-powered offense resonates with the high number of quick scoring drives, scoring in three minutes or less on 62 of the team’s 89 scoring drives in 2013 (70.0 percent). There was a direct correlation between the time of ASU’s scoring drives in 2013 and the points per scoring drive as well. When ASU scored in three minutes or less, it averaged 6.2 points per drive. When the drive lasted longer than three minutes, ASU’s average dropped to 5.4 points per drive. In ASU’s 14 drives in 2013 lasting longer than four minutes, the team averaged just 4.3 points per score.
START STRONG...FINISH STRONG The Sun Devils have now outscored their opposition 295-139 in the first quarter under Todd Graham after taking a 17-0 advantage through one frame in the opener. The Sun Devils are 14-1 under Graham when holding their opposition scoreless in the first as they did against the Wildcats. ASU improved to 17-0 when leading at halftime with Graham as coach following the Weber State contest as well. ASU also knows how to close out games, outscoring teams 258-148 in the fourth quarter of games under Graham.
WINNING BY WAY OF TKO (TAYLOR KELLY OFFENSE) Following the Weber State contest (18-for-27, 238 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions), Taylor Kelly now has 6,934 career passing yards, good for fourth in school history and 1,893 behind Jake Plummer for third place and 3,683 yards behind Andrew Walter for the school record. His touchdown pass also gave him 58 for his career, good for fifth in school history and just six behind Ryan Kealy for fourth. In 14 games in 2013, Kelly had 3,635 passing yards and averaged 259.6 yards per game, both ranked in the top five in school history. He is just the second Sun Devil to have multiple seasons with 3,000+ passing yards behind only Andrew Walter (3). Statistically, the team relies heavily on Kelly’s ball protection, as ASU is 6-8 with Kelly as the starter when he throws an interception, compared to a 13-1 record when he doesn’t - the lone loss coming in the Pac-12 Championship game last season against Stanford. All six of the victories with interceptions came in 2013, showing an improved ability to overcome adversity at the hands of turnovers. Kelly finished the season ranked 13th nationally in points responsible for with 222 (28 passing TDs, nine rushing), breaking the previous school record in the category of 198 previously set by Mike Pagel in 1981.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP There won’t be a lot of turnover in the Pac-12 this season at the quarterback position. All but two teams return their starting quarterback from last season. Even with that in mind, Kelly is currently tied with UCLA’s Brett Hundley with the most second most career starts for a QB in the conference at 28. Only Sean Mannion (32) has more starts in his career, leading the nation’s active quarterbacks in the category. In fact, among all power conference programs, only Rutgers’ Gary Nova (29 starts) has more than Kelly and Hundley following the injury to Ohio State’s Braxton Miller (34 career starts would have led the country entering the season).
HE’S GOT LEGS, AND HE KNOWS HOW TO USE THEM Taylor Kelly has done plenty to get it done through the air, but its his aptitude in the running game that has made him as potent a quarterback. Kelly had just three rushes for 14 yards in the opener against Weber State but his ability to extend plays has been exceptional from the start, as demonstrated by his 516 net rushing yards on 134 attempts in 2012 - a mark skewed by the fact that sacks count against a quarterback’s rushing totals. If you take out sacks, Kelly would have led the team in yardage and yards per carry with 690 net rushing yards in 2012 on 103 carries (6.7 ypc). Sacks aside in 2013, Kelly had 826 rushing yards on 134 attempts (6.2 ypc) and was on fire in the final nine games with nine rushing touchdowns while rushing for 599 yards (sacks excluded) on 106 carries (5.7 yards per rush). Those nine touchdowns were notable as Kelly had just one rushing touchdown in 18 games prior to the season-ending streak. Kelly was second on the team last season with 43 rushes for first down, trailing only Marion Grice (45). He was also second on the team in “explosive plays” on the ground (rushes of 12 or more yards) with 18 in 2013, trailing only Marion Grice’s 19. Additionally, Kelly has now punted 15 times in his career, with 11 of those being downed inside of the 20-yard line - including one in the opener against Weber State.
TAYLOR MADE ON THIRD DOWN The senior quarterback led the team in third down rushes in 2013 with 30. Fifteen of those went for a first down and six for for a touchdown, more than the entire team has combined on third down on the season, rushing or receiving (3). Kelly averaged a team leading 7.6 yards per rush on third down and finished tied for second nationally in touchdown rushes on third down with six.
FOSTER THE PEOPLE D.J. Foster is the only returning player in the nation to amass 400+ receiving AND rushing yards last year and his eight career receving touchdowns are the most among all active running backs. Last season, Foster was second on the team in all-purpose yardage with 1,170 yards in 2013 (501 on the ground. 653 by air and 16 on KR). Foster made his mark in the receiving game in 2013 with 63 grabs for 653 yards (10.4 ypc), ranking second on the team in both categories. The 63 receptions set a new school record for catches by a running back He also had a knack for getting to the first down marker as finished tied for second on the team with 53 first downs on 156 touches this season (34.0 percent).
GO D.J., THAT’S MY D.J. With 147 rushing yards in the ooener, D.J. Foster eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in his career. He did so on his first carry of the season, a 7-yard rush on first down. Foster also scampered for a 57-yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter, a career-long. Additionally, his 147 total rushing yards were also a career-best, breaking his personal previous record of 132 vs. Texas Tech. Foster has racked up three 100+ yard rushing games in his last four games and has seven rushing touchdowns in that span. He had zero 100+ yard rushing games in his prior 24 games and four rushing touchdowns.
A STRONG START Jaelen Strong wasted no time picking things up where he left off in the opener, hauling in 10 passes for 146 yards in just a single half of action. As far as openers go, only Mike Jones’ six catches for 162 yards in 2008 vs. NAU and Keith Poole’s nine catches for 162 yards in 1995 against UW were more prolific stat-wise in the past two decades. Last year, The junior college transfer led the team in receptions and yards with 75 grabs for 1,122 yards (5.4 rpg/80.1 ypg) and seven touchdowns in 2013. In his first four games, Strong made his mark by posting the best four starts of any receiver in term of yards and receptions in school history. Prior to Strong, no Sun Devil wide receiver in history had posted more than one 100+ yard game in their first four starts. Strong now has eight 100-yard receiving games in his career, trailing only Derek Hagan (18) and Shaun McDonald (12) for the most 100-yard receiving games in program history.
THE FORCE IS STRONG Just as impressive as Jaelen Strong’s statistics were, his ability to make catches when they count can’t be overlooked. Of Strong’s 10 receptions in the opener, nine went for a first down, representing over one quarter of ASU’s total first downs in the contest. Last season, a total of 47 of his receptions went for first downs while he also drew 10 pass interference penalties against opposing defenses (six of which resulted in first downs, four were declined as they were all still caught for either a first down, touchdown or two-point conversion), thus playing a role in 53 of ASU’s 340 total first downs last season. Additionally, Strong was second on the team in explosive plays (rushes over 12 yards and receptions over 16 yards) with 29 last season. He had four such plays in the opener against Weber State. The leading receiver for the Sun Devils over the entire 13 games in 2012 in the category had 18 explosive receiving plays, a figure Strong took just six games to break last year.
HOLD ‘EM BACK ASU prides itself on its aggressive defense under Todd Graham and tackles for loss and no-yardage plays play a big role in that. In the opener, ASU had four tackles for loss, five stops at the line of scrimmage and forced 15 incomplete passes for a total of 24 plays that did not earn a single yard out of the 61 total plays run by the Weber State offense (39.3 percent). In 2012, ASU forced 117 tackles for a loss of 497 total yards in 2012 - a 9.00 TFL per game mark that led the nation. As a whole, ASU had a combined 155 defensive plays that went for a loss or no gain out of 953 offensive plays the opposition ran and with incomplete passes added to the mix, ASU forced 341 plays that did not result in positive yardage (35.8 percent of opponent’s plays from scrimmage). In 2013, the ASU defense had 101 tackles for loss and held offenses to 353 plays (out of 942 by the opposition) that did not earn positive yardage (including incomplete passes) - a 37.4 percentage rate of plays run from the line of scrimmage. All told, in two seasons under Graham, ASU has forced 717 plays that have not resulted in positive yardage out of 1,956 total plays (36.7 percent).
LIGHT ‘EM UP Putting points on the scoreboard won’t typically be a problem with Mike Norvell heading the offense, as ASU eclipsed 50 points six times in games in 2013, breaking the school record held by the 1973 team. ASU went 86 games without scoring 60 from 2005-2011. Under Coach Graham it has scored 60 three times (63 NAU, 62 Navy, 62 USC). The Sun Devils finished 10th nationally at 39.7 points per game and scored 556 total points, just six points behind the 1972 school record. ASU got off to a solid start in the opener, dropping 45 on Weber State - good for the 26th-highest opening day total in the country this past weekend.
RETURNING FIRE Perhaps the most exciting part about last year’s offense breakout is the fact that ASU returns a good majority of those players for the 2014 campaign. In fact, ASU is the only school in the Pac-12 Conference to return a 3,000+ yard passer (Kelly), a 1,000+ yard receiver (Strong) and two 500+ yard rushers (Kelly/Foster). The Sun Devils are actually one of just three teams in the entire country to lay such a claim with Houston and Marshall being the only others.
BETTER SUITED FOR HANDKERCHIEFS The Sun Devils don’t give referees much reason to reach for their pockets under Todd Graham. In each of his eight seasons as a head coach, Graham’s teams have been consistently ranked among in the top half of the least penalized teams in the country in both yards and penalties per game. The Sun Devils had just four penalties for 30 yards in the opener. In 2013, the Sun Devils finished eighth in fewest penalties (4.00) and seventh in fewest penalty yards per game (31.4).
MORE ON PENALTIES Todd Graham has had a knack for having some of the most disciplined teams in the nation when it comes to penalty yards. Fifteen of ASU’s 19 least penalized games since 2006 have come under Todd Graham. SInce Todd Graham arrived at Arizona State, the Sun Devils have had just 115 penalties in 28 games (4.1 penalties per game). The Sun Devils were penalized just four times for 30 yards in the opener.
MAKE ‘EM PAY ASU isn’t in the habit of leaving points off the board following turnovers. In 2013, ASU outscored its opponents 146-42 on points off turnovers while posting a +15 takeaway number. ASU put points on the board following 75.8 percent of oppponent turnovers (25-of-33) compared to just the 33.3 (6-of-18) percent clip ASU opponents scored off of Sun Devil turnovers. ASU had 18 touchdowns in 2013 on 33 opponent turnovers, aided by five interception returns for touchdowns. In 2012, the Sun Devil offense put points in the bank on 70.0 of its conversion opportunities, scoring 18 touchdowns off of 30 turnovers forced. ASU outscored opponents 139-58 in points off turnovers over the course of that year, despite posting just a middling +6 number in the takeaway category. That year, ASU’s opponents scored on just 41.7 percent of their drives following an ASU turnover and scored just seven touchdowns on 24 turnovers. In two years under Todd Graham, ASU has outscored opponents 275-100 in points of turnovers.
TURNOVER FACTORY The Sun Devils streak of 29 consecutive games forcing a turnover game to a hault against Weber State, bring an end to what was the second-longest active streak in the nation. Last season. ASU led the Pac-12 with 33 takeaways in 2013, finishing fifth nationally. The team was seventh nationally with a 1.1 turnover margin. The squad had forced 63 turnovers under Todd Graham in the last two seasons, second most among FBS institutions behind only Houston (74). In the Pac-12, only Oregon, ASU and Washington have had a positive turnover ration in each of the last three seasons. Additionally, ASU is the only team in the league with at least 30 takeaways in each of those seasons
THE ALTERNATIVE DEFINITION OF “SCORING DEFENSE” Scoring defense is an official statistic credited to defenses based on how many points they allow per game. The ASU defense is working to re-write that definition with a defense that finds a way to directly lead to points on the board. The Sun Devils had five interception returns for touchdowns in 2013 and one safety, making the ASU defense directly responsible for 37 of ASU’s points on the year. In 2012, ASU had three interceptions returned for touchdowns. Considering points off turnovers that the ASU offense scored, the ASU defense had a hand in 165 of the 499 points (33.1 percent) scored for the Sun Devils in 2012 and placed their stamp on 148 of ASU’s 566 points (26.0 percent) scored in 2013. The icing on the cake for this statistic came on a goaline touchdown pass to defensive tackle Davon Coleman against Colorado, technically increasing ASU’s defensive total to 155 points.
#NOFLYZONE The Sun Devil secondary showed no signs of losing three starters in the opener, holding Weber State to just 14-of-29 passing for 156 yards. Last season, ASU finished third in the conference in passing yards allowed in Pac-12 games (222.3 per game). ASU has eight interception returns for touchdowns under Graham, compared to posting just four total in the previous three seasons prior to 2012. The total is tied for second with Baylor behind only SMU (9) for the most since the start of the 2012 campaign. ASU had 21 interceptions in 2013, ranked first in the conference and third nationally, and had 62 passes defensed, ranked 42nd nationally. ASU’s five interception returns for touchdowns in 2013 were tied for first nationally with Florida State, Baylor and Arizona. The Sun Devils have 42 interceptions in the last two seasons, second in the FBS behind only Houston (44).
GOLD ZONE One area that saw improvement last season for the Sun Devils was red zone offense, with ASU putting points on the board 91.3 percent of the time against FBS opponents in 2013, finishing sixth nationally in the category, as per TeamRankings.com. ASU picked up where it left off, scoring on all six of its trips inside the red zone in the opener. On the flip side, ASU allowed its FBS opponents to score 88.9 percent of the time in 2013 when entering the red zone (ranked 106th nationally), compared to an 80.5 percent figure in 2012 that was 51st in the nation. ASU held Weber State to just one score in two red zone appearances in the opener. In 2012, ASU scored on just 76.1 percent of their drives inside the 20 and ranked a lowly 93rd in the nation against FBS opponents.
WINNING THE BATTLE FOR FIELD POSITION The Sun Devils are largely exceptional when it comes to starting field position and continue to resonate a point Todd Graham makes about being successful in the field position battle to win games. Under Todd Graham, ASU has had an average starting yard line of its own 36.3 in 19 victories compared to a starting yard line of the 25.1 for their opponents in such contests. ASU did not allow Weber State to start in Sun Devil territory in any of its 14 drives in the opener. Conversely, opponents have an average starting field position of their own 33.7 yard line compared to ASU starting at its own 29.2 in ASU’s nine losses under Graham. in 2012, ASU posted an average starting spot of its own 33-yard line that ranked 10th in the nation, according to the folks at Football Outsiders (www.footballoutsiders.com) and in 2013, the team ranked 13th nationally (average starting yard line: 33.3). The Sun Devils also held their opponents to an average starting line of their own 28-yard-line, a total that ranked 24th nationally in 2012, though the squad dropped a bit to 32nd last season (average opp. starting yardline: 28.2). ASU had 10 scoring drives of 80 yards or longer in 2013, a notable feat as ASU had six such drives in the entirety of the 2012 season. ASU had two such drives in the opener against Weber State, including a school-record matching 99-yard drive that was ASU’s longest drive since a 99-yard drive in 2008 against Northern Arizona.
CLOSING THINGS OUT ASU has outscored other teams 258-148 in the fourth quarter under Todd Graham. ASU finished 10th in the nation in points per fourth quarter in 2013 against FBS opposition (9.9) after finishing the 2012 season wtih 9.3 points per fourth quarter, which was good for eighth nationally. ASU’s 16.8 second-half points per game against FBS squads in 2013 was 24th nationally.
HALFTIME MOMENTUM The Sun Devils did a good job of building some cushion heading into halftime last season, finishing fourth nationally in second quarter points per game at 12.6. The Sun Devils scored 20 or more points in five second quarters in 2013 and outscored the opposition 192-115 on the season in the second quarter of games - the highest point discrepency between ASU and its opponents in any quarter on the season. ASU outscored Weber State 14-0 in the second quarter of the opener and improved to 17-0 under Todd Graham when leading at the half.
USE THEM WISELY Todd Graham doesn’t hesitate to use his alotted three timeouts per half when his squad is on defense, a coaching technique that has plenty of detractors. A closer look at the result of the play following those timeouts might quiet some, however. Since the start of the 2012 season, ASU has used 38 timeouts on defense in third down situations, forcing fourth down or a turnover on the ensuing play on 27 of those occassions (71 percent).
#NOFIRSTDOWNFORYOU Last season, the ASU defense forced opponents to 80 three-and-outs on 189 drives (42.3 percent), ranked fifth nationally with 5.71 three-and-outs per game. ASU’s 80 total three and outs forced during the 2013 season were the second most nationally behind only Baylor (83). The Sun Devils forced four three-and-outs in the opener against Weber State on 12 drives (33.3 percent).
GOLD RUSH ASU finished the 2012 season averaging 205.5 yards per game on the ground, which was the second-best mark in the past 25 seasons (since 1988). Only the 234.1 yards per game put up by the 1996 Sun Devils were better. It was a little bit of a slow start for the Sun Devils in 2013 but the team found its running legs by the end, averaging 191.4 yards per game and ranked 40th nationally. Even after ASU’s slow start to the season in the category, the squad still posted the fourth-highest single season rushing mark of the last 25 seasons. ASU put up 267 yards on the ground in the opener against Weber State.
ROAD WARRIORS Winning away from home in college football is difficult, especially in conference games. Under Coach Todd Graham, ASU is beginning to assemble a pretty good resume of road/neutral site victories, collecting four in 2012 (at California, Colorado, Arizona and vs. Navy at the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl). In 2013, ASU garnered three straight road wins (at Washington State, at Utah and at #14 UCLA) and are winners of four of the last five road games under Graham. That is seven road wins in the past 12 road games for ASU, including six Pac-12 Conference road wins in the past nine Pac-12 road games. ASU also has had two very close losses on the road under Graham, a four point loss at Missouri and a three-point loss to Notre Dame in Dallas.
SOMETHING YOU DON’T SEE EVERY YEAR Saturday’s contest against New Mexico kicks off a weird schedule for the Sun Devils in that they will play three road games in the first fives games and four road games in the first seven. Since football picked back up after World War II, ASU has played three road games in the first five games just nine times with the most recent being 1997 while the team has played four road games in the first seven games just six times with the last occuring in 2010.
RECORD NOTABLES Last season, ASU reached six Pac-10/12 wins for just the fourth time in 36 seasons since it joined the league in 1978. It was 8-0 in 1996, 6-2 in 1997 and 7-2 in 2007. The league only played seven league games in 1978 and 1979, eight in 1980, then went to a seven-game slate from 1981-90. The league went to an eight-game slate in 1991 and then a nine-game slate in 2006. The team’s eight wins matched the 1996 school record for the most conference wins in Sun Devil history (including Border and WAC schedules). With the Territorial Cup win, ASU reached 10 wins for the first time since the 2007 season. In fact, in the history of Sun Devil football, ASU has reached the 10-win plateau just 12 times. Additionally, all eight of ASU’s conference victories came consecutively and capped a streak that marked just the 13th time in history the Sun Devils won five or more conference games in a row (Border and WAC years included). Prior to last season, ASU had won five or more conference games in a row just three times (‘96, ‘97, ‘07) since 1987.
EXPLOSIVE You’d be hard-pressed to listen to a Todd Graham press conference that didn’t involve the word “explosive” at some point as the head coach makes no attempt to hide the fact that that’s what he wants his team to be. The Sun Devils have a classification of “explosive plays” that equal a run of 12 or more yards or a passing play of 16 or more yards. ASU finished with 142 such plays in 2013 (82 passing, 60 rushing) and 165 (90 passing, 75 rushing) in 2012. Jaelen Strong finished with 29 explosive plays as a wide receiver, notable for the fact that Rashad Ross and D.J. Foster each had 18 explosive receiving plays all season in 2012, the highest tally on the team. The Sun Devils finished the season tied for seventh in the nation in plays longer than 20 yards in 2013 with 86 after having 72 in 2012, which was good for 19th in the country in the category. In the opener, ASU had 14 explosive plays (eight passing, six rushing).
PROTECT THIS HOUSE With the victory in the opener, ASU is now 12-3 at Sun Devil Stadium under Todd Graham. With the loss to Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship, ASU finished last season with a 7-1 record at Sun Devil Stadium.. The 2013 season marked just the second time ASU has gone undefeated at home in the regular season in the past 16 seasons (since 1997), also going 6-0 in 2004. ASU also had a perfect record at home in ‘59, ‘64, ‘68, ‘70, ‘71, ‘73, ‘75, ‘81 and ‘96. After 13 games under Todd Graham, the Sun Devils have averaged 46.0 points per game at home,. The lowest score the Devils have recorded in a regular season home game under Graham is 21 against Oregon in 2012 - the only regular season game under Graham that ASU has scored less than 30 points - and ASU has scored 20 or more in 21 consecutive regular season home games, dating back to 2010. ASU’s 49.1 points per game at home in 2013 were sixth in the nation, just shy of the school record for scoring offense at home, which was 49.2 points set by the 1972 team.
RUN THE CLOCK One of the biggest areas of improvement for the Sun Devils in 2013 was the clock management side of things. In 2012, ASU ranked seventh in the Pac-12 and 80th nationally in time of possession, holding the ball an average of 29:15 per game. In 2013, ASU averaged 30:21 minutes of possession time per game - a total that ranked fourth in the conference and 51st nationally. ASU had 31:11 minutes of possession in the opener to Weber State’s 28:49. The team had 13 scoring drives over four minutes in 2013, compared to just three in 2012. “So, ASU’s offense scores fast and thus time of possession is irrelevent,” you say? Not so fast, my friend. ASU is 12-2 when leading in time of possession under Todd Graham compared to a 7-8 record when trailing in the time of possession category.
IN-ZANE IN THE MEMBRANE True freshman placekicker Zane Gonzalez had a nice hot streak in 2013, hitting 18 straight field goals beginning the USC game on September 28 before missing one in the Pac-12 Championship game against Stanford. The Deer Park, Texas, product did, however, earn Pac-12 First Team honors for his incredible season. Gonzalez finished the year hitting 25 of 30 field goals (83.3 percent) and booted 63 of 65 extra points. Gonzalez finished No. 10 in the nation in scoring at 9.9 points per game and led the Pac-12 kick scoring category by a large margin. The next kicker on the list was Stanford’s Jordan Williamson at 8.8. His 138 points by kick scoring were No. 1 in the Pac-12, far ahead of No. 2 Travis Coons of Colorado (107 points). Gonzalez was No. 1 in the Pac-12 in field goals at 1.7 per game. Gonzalez led the Pac-12 with 25 field goals, seven ahead of Williamson’s 18 field goals this season. Gonzalez was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s top kicker.
FG-onzal-EZ Gonzalez finished with 138 points last, breaking the long-standing school record in the category that was previous held by Wilford White’s 136 in 1950. Gonzalez’s 138 points demolished the previous scoring record by an ASU kicker that was 118, set by Thomas Weber (2007) and Mike Barth (2002). With 25 field goals last season, Gonzalez tied the NCAA freshman record of 25 that was set by UCLA’s Kai Forbath in 2007 (25-30) and made more field goals than any other player in the FBS in the process and four more than any other freshman in the nation. Gonzalez’s aim was true in his one attempt against Weber State and he was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points.
TODD-BITS OF INFO Over his four seasons prior to coming to ASU -- one at Pittsburgh and three at Tulsa -- Todd Graham’s teams rushed the ball on at least 53.4 percent of their total plays. The 2012 Sun Devils rushed the ball on 59.1 percent of their total plays followed by a 55.2 percent tally in 2013. In 2011, ASU rushed just 44.5 percent of the time. Over the past eight seasons at Pitt, Tulsa, Rice and now ASU, only one Graham-coached team has ranked outside the top 50 nationally in sacks. The Sun Devils averaged 4.0 sacks per game in 2012, the second-best mark in the nation, and then 2.9 in 2013 to finish 17th nationally in the category. In eight seasons, Graham is 25-22 in true road games. ASU was 3-3 in such games in 2012 and 3-2 in road games in 2013. In the previous four seasons prior to Graham’s arrival, ASU was 5-16. In seven of the past eight years, Graham’s teams have ranked 39th or better nationally in fewest penalty yards per game. The Sun Devils averaged only 34.92 penalty yards per game in 2012, which was good for eighth in the nation, and bettered that in 2013 at just 31.36 penalty yards per game (seventh nationally).
HANG ON TO YOUR SEATS ASU played in four games in 2013 decided by seven points or less, going 3-1 in those contests. The total is notable as ASU was just 4-13 in the previous four seasons in games decided by less than a touchdown.
TODD’S WINNING WAYS At one point ranked 11th in the AP Poll, Todd Graham achieved his highest ranking as a head coach in his career in 2013. The team also peaked at 11th in the BCS standings, also a new high for Graham. Graham won 18 games in his first three seasons at Arizona State. To put that into perspective, Frank Kush won 17 games in his first two seasons as head coach. Of all the coaching hires made in prior to the 2012 season, Graham has posted the fifth-best record at 19-9, one game behind UCLA’s Jim Mora at 20-8 with only Urban Meyer (25-2), Tim DeRuyter (20-7), Kevin Sumlin (21-6) and ahead of them.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE The Sun Devils’ 10 wins in 2013 were made even more impressive by the fact that the team held the nation’s sixth toughest schedule based on the winning percentage of opponents played. ASU’s non-FCS opponents in 2013 posted a 84-50 record on the season (62.7) and marked the toughest schedule played by a Pac-12 institution.
TAKING DOWN THE TOP ASU was 3-2 last season against team’s ranked in the AP Top-25 Poll. ASU defeated No. 20 Wisconsin, No. 20 Washington and No. 14 UCLA in 2013 while losing to Stanford twice. ASU’s three victories were the most since 1997 when the team went 3-1 against teams ranked in the AP poll. The school record for AP wins is five, set by the 1986 Rose Bowl team.
EIGHT WINS AND NO EASY LAYUPS In 2013, California went 0-9 in Pac-12 play, the 13th team to go winless in league play since the Pac-10 was created in 1978. ASU missed Cal on the schedule, making ASU’s eight-wins in Pac-12 play even more impressive. Only twice prior has the team that has won a Pac-10 or Pac-12 championship not played a winless team in those 12 seasons. In 1982, the Pac-10 Champion UCLA Bruins did not play the Oregon State Beavers, who went 0-7 in the conference. And in 1997, Washington State - who was named co-champions with UCLA - did not playa Beavers team that went 0-7 in the conference that year.
SCHOLAR-BALLERS The Sun Devils have had a recent history of putting numerous student-athletes on the field that have already earned their degrees and the 2014 roster is no different. ASU will feature eight players this season that have earned their undergraduate degrees and will be pursuing graduate coursework. That total ranks in a tie for 13th nationally and is tops amoung Pac-12 institutions. Additionally. ASU has 40 student-athletes on its roster that are members of Sun Devil Athletics’ Scholar-Baller Program, which honors athletes who maintain over a 3.00 GPA in the classroom.
SEASON OPENERS Arizona State is 74-26-2 (.738) all-time in season openers, including victories in the last 12 straight, all coming at home. That streak currently ranks in a tie for the seventh-longest active winning streak in season openers in the nation. ASU holds an all-time mark of 56-15-1 (.783) when opening the season at home and hasn’t lost a home opener since 1998 to Washington - a streak of 16 straight victories - the longest active streak in the Pac-12. Head Coach Todd Graham is 7-2 in season opening games in his nine years as a collegiate coach.